Brexit candidate Andrea Leadsom has announced her withdrawal from the Conservative Party leadership race. It is understood that her only remaining rival for the top post, Theresa May, will now become the next British Prime Minister as early as this week – an assumption made by Ms Leadsom during her resignation speech. She told TV cameras at 12:15 this afternoon: “This morning I’ve written a letter to Graham Brady the chairman of the 1922 committee” before reading out some of the letter. She said: “I believe that in leaving the EU a bright future awaits,” before going on to stress: “The referendum result demonstrated a clear desire for change”. She added: “Strong leadership is needed urgently,” before stating “a 9-week leadership campaign at such a critical moment for our country is highly undesirable”. LIVE UPDATES: 12:46PM – The Queen is in Scotland today, and Theresa May is on her way to London from Birmingham. So there may not be a new Prime Minister today. Original story follows: She said “business needs certainty” and that “a strong and unified government must move quickly”. Her campaign supporter Iain Duncan Smith lamented that the Theresa May campaign had made the campaign too divisive,